My ACP story

Andy Bassett joined EY in 2016 after attending Royal Holloway University where he majored in security and finance.

What drew you to EY?

Like everyone does, I applied to a lot of different firms, and in all honesty, it was the one that I most connected with. At a couple of the other firms, I felt it was a very mechanical and robotic process where you were just another number. In every single experience I had with EY, you were supported throughout the application process which was amazing. It made me go, 'Okay, they actually care about you, they actually want to know about you,' which I really liked. When I came into the assessment centre and met the people who worked here, they again just reinforced everything I was looking for personally, and I really loved it.

Tell us about your current role.

I officially sit in the cyber security team. but for the time being, I've been brought onto a smaller project in a small team of about five, which has been fantastic as you get a lot of responsibilities. What I do is I go through and basically audit the IT controls of a company to make sure that there are the necessary precautions and safeguards in place to make sure everything is running smoothly. On top of that I also get involved in various sideline activities. For example, last week I was asked to help out on a project for one of the partners, and whilst it took me quite a while, it was such a good learning experience and was something I would welcome the opportunity to do again.

What advice would you give to students applying to EY?

I’m a part of the student recruitment team and I’m a representative of my university so something that I’d recommend is to explore every option available and don’t close any doors on yourself. I would also say experience as much as you can and don’t say no to anything because those experiences that you might not think are very useful are actually the events that sculpt your future.

What does building a better working world mean to you?

For me, building a better working world is where people go beyond corporate rivalry; you go beyond thinking about the bottom line; and you think about we can actually do to make sure that when we leave this job or leave the industry, you can leave it in a better place than you did when you started. I think it’s where everyone works together to put aside any sort of differences they might have and work as a team.

Describe EY in three words.

Community, fast-paced and unforgettable.

In the short time you've been with EY, what have you learned?

I have definitely learnt a lot about effective presentations, how to present them and how to construct them, in particular to tailor them to the required audience and client. In the first few months it's a massive learning curve, but that's something that you should embrace because it’s so helpful. When you join the firm, you want to be that sponge that just takes in everything you can - because in five years' time, you are not going to be able to learn as quickly as you can now through the opportunities given on the graduate scheme.

What are you passionate about outside of work?

I am a qualified pilot so I fly planes when the weather is good, and I really try to fly as much as I can. I'm also passionate about family and love to spend time with them as much as I can.

Have you made the most of your graduate community?

On our first day, I think we set up a Whatsapp group, and there was 230 people in this Whatsapp group.. On the first day everyone was just basically chatting and making future plans with the group. Since then, whilst we aren’t able to catch up often, we do try to meet up regularly, whether it be for coffee or a meal. So on a Friday, everyone obviously goes down and goes out together, and you might see that person that you met two months ago at the induction and are able to just catch up.